This page highlights figures and institutions frequently cited by journalists, lawmakers, and advocates as obstructing or slowing UAP transparency. Inclusion is based on public records and reporting (linked below) and is presented as a starting point for legitimate journalistic inquiry.
Important: Summaries below reflect claims made in sources we link. Readers should review those materials directly. If you’re named here and wish to provide a statement, please contact us.
Why listed: Frequently cited by advocates and media as opposing expansive UAP disclosure provisions during NDAA negotiations, which critics say helped produce watered-down outcomes.
Why listed: Often associated in reporting/advocacy with resistance to stronger UAP provisions during NDAA talks.
Why listed: Named by advocates/press as a central opponent in Senate negotiations that curtailed stronger UAP-disclosure provisions; final NDAA language was significantly pared back.
Why listed: An Oversight Committee submission (Nov 13, 2024) asserts that CIA/DS&T, during a meeting with Gaffney while in that role, disapproved transferring UAP-related materials to AAWSAP/Bigelow facilities—keeping custody within CIA.
Why listed: As AARO’s first director, his office and public statements have been criticized by witnesses and members as obstructive. In the Sept 9, 2025 hearing, Chair Anna Paulina Luna said she’d be “happy to send … a subpoena” for his testimony; multiple outlets covered witness criticism of AARO’s approach.
Unlike the U.S., the UK has no prominently named individual “gatekeepers.” Instead, long-standing institutional policy functions as the gate: the Ministry of Defence ceased investigating UFO/UAP reports in 2009 and has repeatedly stated there are no plans to re-establish a dedicated team. That stance keeps the issue below the political/media radar.
For reporters: Focus FOI on policy, procurement, and inter-agency coordination. Ask: who receives UK military UAP incident reports today? What is the escalation path? Which offices interface with allies on UAP data?